Access our Annual Reports and Accountability documents from the New York State Education Department and the New York City Department of Education here: https://rencharters.org/trcs-jackson-heights/past-annual-reports/

In accordance with the New York State Distraction-Free Learning Environment Law, The Renaissance Charter School is committed to fostering a focused and respectful academic environment. Our cell phone policy outlines expectations and procedures regarding the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices on school grounds.
Read the Policy

Technology and Internet Safety Policy (CIPA Policy) 

Code of Conduct and Discipline Policy; which includes the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) policy.

Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) policy.

The Dominic Murray Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act, Chapter 500 of the Laws of 2021, and Commissioner’s regulation §136.9 are effective July 1, 2022. The Act was written to ensure that schools, students, and parents are provided with critical, lifesaving information on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) risks, signs, and symptoms, to ensure students at risk are evaluated prior to participation in athletics, and that SCA is immediately recognized and treated to prevent death. Learn more about the Act HERE.

Download the Elementary and Middle School Family Handbook HERE.

Download the High School Family Handbook HERE.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) affords parents and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. These rights are:

The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the School receives a request for access. Parents or eligible students should submit to Pupil-Personnel Secretary, a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. TRCS will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. Parents or eligible students who wish to ask TRCS to amend a record should write Pupil-Personnel Secretary, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If TRCS decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, TRCS will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing. After a hearing, if TRCS decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth her view about the contested information.

The right to privacy of personally identifiable information in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by TRCS as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on TRCS’s Board of Trustees; a person or company with whom TRCS has outsourced services or functions it would otherwise use its own employees to perform (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); a parent or student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; or a parent, student, or other volunteer assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Upon request, TRCS discloses education records without consent to officials of another school or a school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll, or is already enrolled if the disclosure is for purposes of the student’s enrollment or transfer. TRCS will make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent or student of the records request.

The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by TRCS to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202-8520

Directory Information under FERPA:

TRCS may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised TRCS to the contrary in accordance with this procedure. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow TRCS to include this type of information from your child’s education records in certain school publications; for example, TRCS yearbook, honor roll and other recognition lists, graduation programs, activities announcements, and sports activity lists with height and weight. This list is not exclusive but is meant as an illustration. Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a parent’s prior written consent. Outside organizations include, but are not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish TRCS’s yearbooks. In addition, federal law requires TRCS to provide military recruiters, upon request, with three categories of directory information (name, address, and telephone number) unless parents have advised TRCS that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent. If you do not want TRCS to disclose directory information from your child’s education records without your prior written consent, you must notify TRCS in writing by October 15th each year. If you do not provide such notice to TRCS on or before October 15th annually, TRCS may publish such directory information in accordance with this policy. TRCS has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student’s name
• Address
• Telephone numbers
• Email address
• Photograph
• Date and place of birth
• Dates of attendance
• Grade level
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams
• Degrees, honors, and awards received
• The most recent educational agency or institution attended
• Student ID number, user ID, or other unique personal identifier used to communicate in electronic systems that cannot be used to access education records without a PIN, password, etc. (A student’s SSN, in whole or in part, cannot be used for this purpose.)

This policy governs the procedure by which the records of TRCS may be obtained pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”).

1. Records Access Officer
The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Records Access Officer (“RAO”) who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy. The RAO is responsible for ensuring appropriate response to public requests for access to records. The designation of a RAO shall not be construed to prohibit officials who have in the past been authorized to make records or information available to the public from continuing to do so. The RAO shall:

(a) Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
(b) Assist persons seeking records to identify the records sought, if necessary, and when appropriate indicate the manner in which the records are filed, retrieved or generated to assist persons in reasonably describing records.
(c) Contact persons seeking records when a request is voluminous or when locating the records involves substantial effort, so that the RAO may ascertain the nature of records of primary interest and attempt to reasonably reduce the volume of records requested.
(d) Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:
(i) Make records available for inspection; or,
(ii) Deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the reasons therefore.
(e) Upon request for copies of records:
(iii) Inform the requestor of the medium such records are available in and the costs of disclosing the records, if any, in accordance with this policy.
(iv) Make a copy available on the medium requested if TRCS can reasonably make such copy or have such copy made by engaging an outside professional service, upon payment or an offer to pay established fees, if any, in accordance with this policy; or,
(v) Permit the requestor to copy those records, upon payment or an offer to pay established fees, if any, in accordance with this policy.
(f) Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
(g) Upon failure to locate records, certify that;
(vi) TRCS is not the custodian of such records, or
(vii) The records of which TRCS is a custodian cannot be found after a diligent search.

2. Location Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at TRCS’s premises when appropriate and practicable or at a location to be determined by the RAO depending on the nature and circumstances of the request.

3. Hours for Public Inspection
Records responsive to proper requests under FOIL shall be produced during regular business hours, whenever appropriate and practicable, or at a time to be determined by the RAO depending on the nature and circumstances of the request.

4. Requests for Public Access to Records

(a) All requests must be made in writing.
(b) If records are maintained on the internet, the requestor shall be informed that the records are accessible via the internet and in printed form either on paper or other information storage medium.
(c) If TRCS has the ability to retrieve or extract a record or data maintained in a computer storage system with reasonable effort, it shall do so. When doing so requires less employee time than engaging in manual retrieval or redactions from non-electronic records, TRCS shall retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. Any programming necessary to retrieve a record maintained in a computer storage system and to transfer that record to the medium requested by a person or to allow the transferred record to be read or printed shall not be deemed to be the preparation or creation of a new record.

(d) A response shall be required only when the request is made in writing, and shall be provided within 5 business days after receipt of the request by a written acknowledgment informing the requestor:

(i)   that all or part of the request fails to reasonably describe the records sought, and indicating, to the extent possible, what further detail or description is needed to process the request;

(ii) that the request is granted or denied in whole or in part;

(iii)   of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied based on the circumstances and reasonableness of the request, however, such date shall not be more than twenty business days after the date of the acknowledgment of the request.

(e) If the request is granted within 20 business days after the date the request is acknowledged, but circumstances prevent disclosure to the requestor within those 20 business days, the RAO will inform the requestor in writing of the reason why TRCS cannot disclose the information within 20 business days and shall also provide a date certain, within a reasonable period, depending on the circumstances, when the request will be disclosed.

(f) In determining a reasonable time for granting or denying a request, the RAO shall consider the volume of the request, the ease or difficulty in locating, retrieving or generating records, the complexity of the request, the need to review records to determine the extent to which they must be disclosed, the number of requests received by TRCS, and any other factors that bear on the ability to grant access to records promptly and within a reasonable time.

(g) TRCS shall not deny a request on the basis that the request is voluminous or that locating or reviewing the requested records or providing the requested copies is burdensome due to a lack of sufficient staffing or on any other basis if the agency may engage an outside professional service to provide copying, programming or other services required to provide the copy, the costs of which TRCS may recover from the requestor.

(h) Failure to comply within the time limitations described herein shall constitute a denial of a request that may be appealed.

5. Subject Matter List

(a) The RAO shall maintain a reasonably detailed current list by subject matter of all records in his or her possession, whether or not records are available pursuant to subdivision §87(3)(c) of the Public Officers Law. For the purposes of this policy, this subject matter list shall be the same as that designated in TRCS’s Record Retention Policy.

(b) The subject matter list shall be updated periodically.

6. Denial of Access to Records

TRCS may deny access to requested records or a portion thereof:

(a) that are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal statute;

(b) if disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy under the provisions of Public Officers Law §89(2);

(c) if disclosure would impair present or imminent contract awards or collective bargaining negotiations;

(d) that are trade secrets or were submitted to TRCS by a commercial enterprise or derived from information obtained from a commercial enterprise and which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise;

(e) that are compiled for law enforcement purposes and which, if disclosed, would:

(i) interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings;

(ii) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication;

(iii) identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information relating to a criminal investigation; or

(iv) reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures, except routine techniques and procedures;

(f) if disclosure could endanger the life or safety of any person; (g) that are TRCS materials which are not:

(v) statistical or factual tabulations or data;

(vi) instructions to staff that affect the public;

(vii) final agency policy or determinations;

(viii) external audits, including but not limited to audits performed by the comptroller and the federal government;

(h) that are examination questions or answers which are requested prior to the final administration of such questions;

(i) if disclosure would jeopardize TRCS’s capacity to guarantee the security of its information technology assets;

(j) that are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images prepare under authority of section eleven hundred eleven-a of the vehicle and traffic law; or

(k) if disclosure would result in a violation of FERPA of 1974, as amended, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, or any other federal, state, or local law or rule, or court order.

(l) if the request is for names and addresses of public employees and is made for solicitation purposes. TRCS may require a person requesting lists of names and addresses to provide a written certification that such person will not use such lists of names and addresses for solicitation or fund-raising purposes and will not sell, give or otherwise make available such lists of names and addresses to any other person for the purpose of allowing that person to use such lists of names and addresses for solicitation and fund-raising purposes.

Denial of access to records shall be in writing stating the reason therefore and advising the requestor of the right to appeal to the Board of Trustees or the Board’s designee, who shall be identified by name, title, business address, and business phone number.

7. Appeal of Denial.

(a) Any person denied access to records may appeal to the Board of Trustees within thirty days of a denial. The time for deciding an appeal by the Board of Trustees shall commence upon receipt of a written appeal identifying:

(i) the date and location of requests for records;

(ii) a description, to the extent possible, of the records that were denied; and

(iii) the name and return address of the person denied access.

(b) The Board of Trustees shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination in writing within ten business days of receipt of an appeal. A failure to determine an appeal within ten business days of its receipt by granting access to the records sought or fully explaining the reasons for further denial in writing shall constitute a denial of the appeal.

(c) The Board of Trustees shall transmit to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of appeals. Such copies shall be addressed to:

Committee on Open Government

Department of State

41 State Street

Albany, NY 12231

8. Fees

(a) There shall be no fee charged for:

(i) inspection of records;

(ii) search for records; or

(iii) any certification pursuant to this policy.

(b) Copies may be provided without charging a fee at the discretion of the RAO.

(c) Fees for copies of records may be charged, provided that:

(i) the fee for copying records shall not exceed 25 cents per page for photocopies not exceeding 9 by 14 inches, or the actual cost of reproducing any other record.

(d) In determining the actual cost of reproducing a record, TRCS may include:

(i) an amount equal to hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid TRCS employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare a copy of the requested record;

(ii) the actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the requestor in complying with such request;

(iii) the actual cost to TRCS of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an TRCS’s information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy; and

(iv) preparing a copy shall not include search time or administrative costs, and no fee shall be charged unless at least two hours of TRCS employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record requested. A person requesting a record shall be Informed of the estimated cost of preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of TRCS employee’s time is needed, or if an outside professional service would be retained to prepare a copy of the record.

9. Severability

If any provision of this policy or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of this policy or the application thereof to other persons and circumstances.

Compliance with Education Law § 2-d and Part 121 requires that we post our Parents Bill of Rights, regarding data privacy and security for our students.  In addition, you can access our contact sheet for state-mandated compliance positions HERE.  They include our DASA, FERPA, Title X and 504 Coordinators, and more.

The 2025-2026 District Safety Plan was reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees at their August 13, 2025 meeting.

The Building School Safety Plan can be requested in person by visiting the school and requesting a copy from the main office. Our authorizers can request a copy by sending an email to the Principal at danielfanelli@rencharter.org.

Additional Plans:

• The Emergency Remote Instruction Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees, Sept 27, 2023
• Public Health Emergency Continuation of Operations Addendum, approved by the Board of Trustees, March 3, 2021

TRCS Wellness Policy

This federal recovery plan was designed to help individuals and institutions across our country address the impact of COVID-19 and the resultant disruptions in our schools, our workplaces, and our daily lives. The Renaissance Charter School was awarded $751,217 in ARP funds and $334,270 in Cares Act (ESSR 2) funds. We used these funds to support the implementation of in-person instruction, improve health and safety throughout our classrooms and school building(s) and strengthen our academic programs and social-emotional supports. We are grateful to our parents, teachers, and the entire school community for their input as we developed our applications and plans for spending ARP ESSER, ESSER II, and ESSER I funds.

• TRCS ARP/ESSER Program Application
• Update to The Renaissance Charter School’s (TRCS) ARP Spending Plan (July 2022)
• TRCS ARP/ESSR Budget (FS-10)
• TRCS ARP/ESSER Budget Narrative
• TRCS ARP FS10A
• TRCS ARP FS10F
• Reopening Plan
• Addendum to the Reopening Plan
• Health & Safety Guide – 2021-2022
• Parent Letter and Parent Presentation (English); Parent Presentation (Spanish)

Copies of the spending plan and update to the plan may be requested in the main office. Copies are available in Spanish with additional languages available upon request.